Bhubaneswar: Amid oil crisis across Odisha, the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department has issued an advisory for adoption of prudent and conscious use of resources, particularly official vehicles and fuel.
Acting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for energy conservation, the initiative has been undertaken under the guidance of departmental Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee.
As part of the fuel-saving and efficiency-enhancing measures, the Department has advised officers using official vehicles for meetings, inspections, field visits and other official engagements to adopt ‘vehicle pooling’ or ‘ride-sharing’ practices wherever feasible.
It said such collective transport arrangements will help significantly reduce fuel expenditure, strengthen efficiency and contribute meaningfully towards national energy conservation efforts. Senior officers attending meetings or events will coordinate the pooling mechanism.
Officers and employees have also been asked to refrain from using official vehicles for lunch outings or other non-essential short-distance personal convenience trips during office hours. Instead, officials are encouraged to opt for shared transport and environment-friendly alternatives for shorter distances.
In addition, the advisory has been extended to all agencies and organisations functioning under the H&UD Department, including EIC (PH), Directorate of Municipal Administration, Directorate of Town Planning, Valuation Organisation, all Municipal Corporations, Development Authorities, SUDs, OSSSB, UIDF, OSHB, Cuttack Urban Transport Corporation, BMRCL, WATCO, OUHM, OUA, ORIET and ORERA.
All these organisations have been instructed to implement similar fuel conservation and resource optimisation measures in their respective offices with sincerity and commitment.
